The Living in the Dead
by FantasyMajesty
Summary: When Miguel returns from the Land of the Dead, everything seems alright again... or is it? Miguel and his friend Maria find out about Ernesto de La Cruz's awful, mystical plan to do with the Riveras, dead and alive, and they must use their knowledge of the Land of the Dead, and Maria's power to interact with the dead, to rescue the Riveras from certain doom.
1. Chapter 1

**Part 1:**

 **What happens in the Land of the Living and the Land of the Dead in between the two Dia de Mueros that are shown in the fantastic movie Coco? What happens to Miguel? What happens between Mama Imelda and Papa Hector? What is Ernesto's plan? Maria will find out. This is a story that adds in my own made up character Maria Ruiz. A dancer, a football player, and loves the Rivera family, but what she doesn't tell anyone is that she can see the entire Rivera family, dead or alive. She can interact with the dead on Dia de Muertos, and she knows a lot about the Land of the Dead as well which comes in handy when you're battling against an insane former, now mystically powerful musician who's heart is set on a revenge. Pixar and Disney own Coco. Please review, and tell me what you think. If I get enough feedback, I'll continue.**

"Are you alright Miguel?" Maria asked as she walked with her friend to school.

Miguel had been unusually quiet today. He usually would rant to her about how much his family was bugging him about 'being there for his family' and so on, especially after Dia de Muertos, but he wasn't saying a word. He was just looking down at the dusty path as they walked up to the school house.

She knew something bad had happened.

She knew the Riveras didn't like music. Correction: they _hated_ music. Everyone in town knew that. It was so unusual that it was almost impossible not to hear about it. But what was more unusual was the fact that Miguel himself loved music. He had built his own guitar and everything, and he was actually really good. He would come over to her house sometimes when he wasn't shining shoes to play aloud where no one would judge him. She would dance along sometimes when she had her dancing shoes on. Her family didn't care that he was around.

Literally. They didn't care at all.

Maria wouldn't be surprised if her family didn't know Miguel even existed. They were always too busy with their jobs to worry about their children, and Maria's only company was usually her two guard dogs, Dogo Argentinos, named Veronica and Silvia, if her brother wasn't around. Her parents owned a huge company in Mexico City, but moved down to Santa Cecilia a couple of years ago to get away from said huge city. They were known to be the richest family in town, and owned De La Cruz's old mansion on top of the hill that overlooked it all. That had been the first reason that Miguel had introduced himself to her was because he was a huge De La Cruz fan and had wanted to see the mansion, but they became actual friends after that. They both knew the hardships of an annoying family.

But Maria wouldn't call the Riveras annoying in the slightest. Miguel's mama and papa were two of the nicest people that Maria had ever met, and were actually teaching her how to make shoes when she wasn't busy with her dance lessons. Miguel's cousins Abel and Rosa went to the same school as them, and Maria knew Rosa from their shared art and P.E. classes. Maria played football with Abel after school almost every day of the week. He loved football, but he weighed too much to be on the top football team at school. Miguel's twin, little cousins, Benny and Manny, were adorable, and she babysat them sometimes to give their mother, Carmin, and their aunt, Gloria, a break since they were little trouble makers. Their father, Berto, was nice enough, but he definitely got his attitude from his mother. Abuela Elena was in charge of the Rivera household after her own Abuela, Mama Imelda, died and her mother, Mama Coco, lost her ability to move around on her own. Poor Mama Coco was 99 years old, and Abuela Elena is only super nice when she's taking care of her. Whenever Maria came around to the Rivera family household and she came in with her dancing shoes, she would glare at her for at least 30 minutes before giving up. Miguel's papa, Enrique, said that combining music and shoes made her mad, and they had stopped making dance shoes after Mama Coco twisted her ankle dancing. Maria was sad about this because she knew that if the Riveras made dancing shoes, they would make a lot of people happy _and_ they would make a fortune.

And Maria should know since the deceased Riveras told her themselves.

Maria's gift was that she could see the dead when they crossed over the bridge between the worlds of living and dead on Dia de Muertos. She had seen an alebrije in a dream when she had first moved to Santa Cecilia the day before Dia De Muertos, a huge feathered serpent, and the next night she was seeing skeletons. She had no deceased family herself to talk to, at least that she knew of, so she just went over to the Rivera household to talk to Mama Imelda, Papa Julio, Tio Oscar, Tio Felipe, Tia Rosita, and Tia Victoria. It had scared her as much as them when they realized that she could see them. Maria had screamed, and started running before accidently toppling right into Oscar, Felipe, and Victoria. Their bones had cluttered together, and Maria's apologetic, have-to-make-things-right instinct got the better of her fear. She, Imelda, Julio, and Rosita had helped them assemble themselves for a good 30 minutes, and that was all the time Maria needed to recognize them from the Rivera ofrenda.

They were good company, and told her all about the Land of the Dead and what it looked like. Maria wished she could just go there for a visit, and see all the bright colors they described. The way they talked about it, it was more beautiful than an untouched, Mexican landscape.

They hated music too, but the younger generations of the dead Riveras were interested in Maria's dance shoes. Oscar and Felipe started planning shoes that had glowing plastic on the bottom instead of metal, Victoria asked her to teach her a couple moves, and even Julio and Rosita taught Maria and Victoria some of their own moves they used to dance with before joining the Rivera family. Mama Imelda only allowed it because, as she put it, it was an enlightening approach in the world of shoes that they didn't dare step in, but Maria knew that she actually enjoyed the show. Maria even noticed her tapping her booted foot to the beat she was making with her dance, and it made her wonder why she disowned music. It obviously made them happy, and it wasn't the real thing that made her so sad. Her husband left to play music, true, but it was his choice. She should be punishing her husband not music. Maria honesty thought she banned music because it reminded her so much of the husband she loved that left her.

Mama Imelda never talked about him, but her brothers did when she wasn't around. They told her that he had been the love of her life, and made her more happy then she had been her entire childhood. He had loved her and Coco, and his only goal in life had been to make his girls as happy as they could be. He had gone on a tour with his friend to make money for the future he dreamed of for his family, but he never came back. It had stumped the twins from life into death. They never would have expected him of all people to leave their sister to defend for herself in a society that looked down on widow women. They had told her that it was a little suspicious since the letters he sent home just suddenly stopped. Maria did some research in the year between the last Dia de Muertos and this one and wanted to tell the twins what she had found, but they never came this year. They never showed.

Miguel didn't either, and apparently, if his family was telling the truth, ran away last night. Maria wasn't told any more information since the Riveras were running around town looking for him, but after seeing his smashed guitar in the middle of the Rivera courtyard, she knew why he ran away.

"I came to your house last night, and your entire family was in complete disarray," Maria continued. "They were running all over your estate and all over town looking for you. I saw your broken guitar, and knew why you left. Your Abuela was was crying over the fact that your Mama Imelda's picture was off the ofrenda, and your mama was nearly passing out so your Tia Gloria had to wet her forehead every now and then since the stress combined with how pregnant she is was giving her a fever."

"I didn't mean to upset everyone," Miguel talked for the first time all day, and it sounded like he was talking to some else, "I didn't mean to run away for the entire night. My Abuela broke my guitar, and I got mad so I left trying to find a guitar so I could play in the plaza but I couldn't find one so I went to De La Cruz's tomb to borrow his guitar—"

"You were the one who stole De La Cruz's guitar!" Maria gasped. She had heard that the guitar was missing, and someone had broken a window of De La Cruz's tomb to get it. It was the talk of the town this morning.

"But it's not his guitar!" Miguel said passionately which made Maria take a step back. Miguel realized he had scared his friend and shook his head apologetically. "Sorry. I've just had a crazy night."

"What happened Miguel? Tell me," Maria said. "You can tell me anything. Why isn't it De La Cruz's guitar? Where did you go last night? What happened?"

Miguel took a deep breathe, like he was going to reveal all his secrets, but he stopped himself with a sigh.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you the truth,"Miguel said sadly as he went back to looking at the dusty ground. Maria laughed at this which startled Miguel into looking back at her.

"I can believe anything Miguel. Trust me," Maria chuckled, silently referring to the fact that she could see the dead. "Tell me!" Miguel looked at her with confusion for a few more minutes. They had since stopped walking, and Maria didn't care if they were late. She cared about her friend more than her grade.

"Um well," Miguel scratched the back of his head, "I had a pretty interesting night… I ran into the cemetery for a guitar and left with the guitar and much more. The meaning of family I suppose…"

"Your straying from the point Miguel, and your getting cheesy," Maria tapped her foot impatiently. "What really happened?"

"I… uh…" Miguel shut his eyes right before saying through gritted teeth: "I went to the Land of the Dead!"

Miguel expected more laughter. For her to tell him he was nuts, and that he should go find a new best friend. It didn't happen though. Miguel slowly opened his eyes to meet Maria's, whose eyes were as wide as saucers and her jaw was touching the floor.

"What?!" She exclaimed, "You saw the Land of the Dead!?" This wasn't happening. Miguel must be making fun of her. He must be pulling her leg. But, like most children around their age, it was easy to tell if they were lying or not. Miguel's face spoke total seriousness, and it rattled Maria down to the bone. This was incredible! She wasn't alone anymore… but she wanted to make sure. "Was it as colorful and bright as your dead family said it was?"

"Yeah it was very colorful, and… Wait… what?" Miguel asked, tilting his head to the side. "How did you know it was colorful… what do you mean dead family!?"

Maria smirked at him. "Mama Imelda was wearing a purple dress with her hair in a bun at the base of her neck with a purple ribbon braided through it. She has purple half oval markings above her eye sockets and dots below, lip stick, and uses her boot as a weapon."

It was Miguel's turn to gape.

"W...w...what?" Miguel asked. "How did you know that?"

"Oh my gosh, you did go to the Land of the Dead!" Maria cried as she happily jumped up and down. "How did you do it? Where did you go? Who did you meet? What did you do?"

"Wait one second," Miguel stopped her. "How do you know what my _dead_ great great grandmother looks like?"

"Yeah, I can see and hear and touch the dead," Maria smiled. "I talk to your dead family every Dia De Muertos!"

Miguel's face was priceless.

He didn't speak. He didn't even look like he was breathing which was making Maria nervous.

"Miguel? Are you alright?" After not getting a reply, Maria tried again. "Did I break you?" She poked his forehead. "Yep you're definitely broken."

"I'm just… how do you… I'm uh…" Miguel was tripping over his words, wondering where to begin. "How long have you been able to do this?"

"Since I first came to Santa Cecilia," María answered. "I saw an alebrije in my sleep one night, and it changed me if that makes any sense."

"What did this alebrije look like?" Miguel asked.

"Um… well, it was huge. Like 20 times taller than me, and was a serpent with feathers growing out of its scales. It scared me out of my sleep, but I always think of it when I talk to skeletons for some reason. It's like their connected."

"That sounds kind of like the alebrije that Mama Imelda has," Miguel pointed out. "Her name is Pepita and she's also huge. She's a jaguar, bird, dragon thingy. She mostly green with a little red, yellow, and blue with horns, and a roar that can shake buildings."

"Really?" Maria beamed at this knowledge, "That's amazing, and makes a great deal of sense." She knew Mama Imelda was a strong, sturdy woman that would never back down if it meant protecting her family, and she was one of Maria's personal heroes. Such an amazing woman was someone to look up to in any young girl's eyes. Having an alebrije that reflected her personality so well was absolute perfection.

"You haven't seen her up close in person," Miguel shivered. "She's like a normal, moody house cat, but she now has size, power, and flight on her side. She's…" Miguel tried to search for a nice way to say the words in his head. "Unpredictable."

"I have never been a cat person myself," Maria said as she recalled her 'precious puppies' that she had at home. "But I would love to meet her. There is a cat that shows up with your dead family every Day of the Dead, but she doesn't have wings, pretty colors, or horns."

"Well she might turn into a normal cat after crossing the Marigold Bridge," Miguel suggested. "Dante does that."

"Dante's an alebrije?" Maria cooed happily. "That's adorable. I'm guessing he's yours."

"Yep," Miguel smiled, "He's my alebrije. And get this. My family is allowing me to keep him, and they've also lifted the music ban."

"I'm so happy Dante now has a home, he deserves one… Wait! What?!" Maria cried at the top of her lungs which made a couple of older students that were sitting out in the school yard turn their heads in annoyance. "They lifted the music ban?! That's incredible, and highly unlikely. How did you do it? Does this have something to do with De La Cruz's guitar?"

"I should probably start from the beginning," Miguel said sheepishly.

As they made their way to the final stretch to the schoolhouse, Miguel told her all about stealing the guitar, getting transported to the Land of the Dead, meeting his dead family, abandoning them because they wouldn't send him home with the ability to play music, meeting Hector, playing in the competition in the Plaza De La Cruz, meeting Ernesto De La Cruz, finding out he and Hector were friends in life but De La Cruz murdered Hector for his songs, that Hector was his great great grandfather and husband to Mama Imelda and father to Mama Coco, and that he revived Mama Coco's memory with a lullaby that Hector wrote and he played on 'De La Cruz's' guitar. If Maria were dead, she jaw would have dropped to the floor.

"So wait!" Maria exclaimed. "What happened to Hector? Did Coco remember in time? Did Mama Imelda forgive him? Is he still in the Land of the Dead? I want to meet him! He sounds like fun!"

"I hope Mama Coco remembered in time," Miguel looked to the ground sadly again, "And I thought I wouldn't be able to find out until I died myself if he survived, but now you can find out next Dias de Muertos. We have the picture of him on the ofrenda so he will be able to cross over next year, and you can tell me."

"I'll make sure to tell you. I really want to meet him," Maria said. "To think that Mama Imelda has been mad at him for years, and just found out that he was instead murdered for trying to come home to her. Talk about a plot twist. I hope they get back together again. Mama Imelda deserves someone for her efforts. She's always liked music and my dancing, and now she can do it freely. Her brothers said she was once the greatest singer in Santa Cecilia."

"She's a very good singer," Miguel agreed. "She even sang in front of a crowd of thousands of people on Dias De Muertos!"

"What!?" Maria cried before the school bell rang. "Oh gosh dang it! This conversation isn't over!" Maria said as she ran to her classroom, and Miguel, in turn, ran to his. Maria needed to know everything about last night. It was an unbelievable event.

"It will take some time for these injuries to heal," the doctor said as she looked over his broken bones. "That bell did a wonder to your skeletal frame, but it will heal since you are so well remembered. A nearly forgotten skeleton would never recover from this."

"The world is just playing with me," Ernesto De La Cruz growled more to himself than anyone present. He had been rescued from under the bell by the police, and quickly arrested. He was now getting his injuries fixed in a room in the Police Station, and there were two officers in the room, and two officers outside guarding the door. He was trying to find some way out, but he had been very unlucky with their opinion on how dangerous he was. They now suspected him to be a full on psychopath, and kept tying him in those white bodysuits and placing him in high security cells. All of this for _nearly_ killing a kid? It was ridiculous. At least they hadn't proven him guilt of Hector's death yet. That would be the final blow, and he would forever remain in a cell until he was truly forgotten. Who knew how long that would take."I'm being charged for something I _could_ be imprisoned for, and I'm going to survive for years and years to come. It's awful." He still had many fans in the Land of the Living, and even if everyone in the Living World knew the truth, he would _still_ be remembered for a long time. Great tragedies, such as the world's greatest musician being a fraud, would be dents in history for at least a couple centuries. He would be bored for a while just with the charges the Riveras made against him for Miguel, but if he was proven guilty of Hector's death… he would be bored out of his mind forever. There was no way around it… or so he had thought. He made it look like he was pressing his hand against his broken ribs to feel them, but he was really checking he still had that book that he was hiding under his prisoners uniform in his rib cage.

"Well you deserve it, don't you?" the doctor stated, and Ernesto could see the guards stiffen at her words. "You tried to kill the one living boy that has ever crossed into this world, and you were even dumb enough to do it on camera. Someone that bad should be locked up in this world, and every world that follows."

Ernesto let a growl rumble deep within his nonexistent throat, but didn't act on his anger. She thought he was dumb, but he would show her. The dumb thing to do would be to attack her, and get more charges placed against him. The dumb thing to do would be to stay in a cell for the rest of his life and rot. But he knew better. He could do better.

He let his anger settle for now because it would better to act on his anger when the entire family of fame-crushers were there.

"That's it Hector. You've got it!" Oscar cheered encouraging words to his brother-in-law. Hector strengthen his grip on the wooden bars that stood horizontally on either side of him. Imelda, Oscar, and Felipe were in the room watching as Hector attempted to walk on his own two feet with help from his arms. Oscar and Felipe stayed on either side of him to catch him if he fell, and the doctor himself had been watching Hector's attempt and monitored his progress. He was there for their assigned appointments, but they would sometimes come in to give Hector a break from the wheelchair which was now his only source of transportation like they were doing now. The doctor said the more he worked his legs, the faster he would heal.

It had been four weeks since the events of Dias De Muertos happened, and Hector, being almost forgotten, was having trouble getting back to his feet. The doctor said that "the more he is remembered the more he will be able to move on his own". He was forced to move in a wheelchair, but he was continuously getting better. Imelda watched with worry as she stood in front of him. She was, in fact, paying for all of this medical work, but she still had so many bundled emotions that she didn't know what to think.

Hector hadn't left her to play in some grand ballroom. He hadn't left her to fulfil a dream that would be impossible with a family. He hadn't left her for another woman… He made that perfectly clear when he gained his strength. She had shut him down multiple times since arriving in the Land of the Dead, but she now didn't have the right to. He had spilled out every apology, every compliment, and every kind word that he never got to tell her in the time they had been apart when he lay in her arms in the Sunrise Spectacular Stadium. It had reduced her to tears which shook her family. Mama Imelda never cried. She held them when they were crying, but they had never seen her cry. Hector had sat up as best he could, and wrapped her in his own arms. She had actually let him. She had rested her head on his shoulder, and cried all those tears she had held in for more years than she cared to admit. It had felt… good. She would admit that. It was nice to be the one being held instead of the one everyone expected to hold them. That didn't mean she didn't like being the holder, but it took a nice weight off of her shoulders to be held. She had him back, after so long, and she wouldn't let him go. And she wouldn't let him get hurt either, and she meant it as she protectively shot out her hands as Hector's arms gave way.

She caught him so that her arms were wrapped under his arms, and it brought their faces really close together. They stared at each other with wide eyes before Hector gave her a sheepish grin and tried not to but was looking down at her painted lips. Imelda raised an bony eyebrow at him, and Hector immediately looked away and tried to get to his feet. _He's afraid to make me mad again_ , Imelda realized. He should be the one mad at her, and he shouldn't fear her wrath because she knew he didn't deserve it. He shouldn't be afraid of her anymore.

Imelda looked down at his bony lips as well and before Hector could figure out what the look meant Imelda pressed her lips to his in an innocent kiss. Oscar and Felipe's jaws nearly dropped completely, but they caught them just in time. Hector froze completely in surprise before relaxing into the kiss. Imelda smiled as he kissed back, and only broke it after she couldn't breath anymore. Hector's face could only be described as blissful, and his eyes were only focused on her face. If Imelda could still blush, she would be. As she looked down at Hector's lips, she started to giggle.

"You've got something there," she gestured to him with her head since her hands were full. Oscar and Felipe looked at what she was talking about, and started to laugh. Hector couldn't see it, but he had Imelda's magenta lipstick all over his lips. Imelda continued to giggle as she helped Hector up so he could use the horizontal bars again before running her thumb over his lips. She revealed to him the magenta on her finger, and he smiled with a laugh of his own.

"You guys are disgusting," Felipe stated.

"Now I wish Hector was still rejected," Oscar joked, but Imelda growled at the statement before smacking both her brothers across the face with her boot, causing their heads to spin on their spines. The action surprisingly made Hector smile. _She's the exact same as when I lost her_ , Hector chuckled mentally as Imelda started cursing her brothers in Spanish.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2:**

 **This took way longer to get out than expected, but don't worry, I'm still here! I have a full** **plot line** **for this story in my head ready to be written on paper, but I haven't had a lot of time to write it. I'll get on the rest of this as soon as my** **schedule** **opens up a little more. Enough of my blathering! Here's part 2!**

"This guitar is beautiful," Maria said as she ran her fingers over the white wood that was in really good condition after so many years of use. She and Miguel were sitting on the boarded up well that had only been in use when the Mama Imelda, Papa Hector, and the twins moved in. It was situated in the Rivera family courtyard, and it was in perfect view of the Rivera home, their workshop, and the ofrenda room. Maria's dogs, Veronica and Silvia, were sitting next to her on high alert like the good guard dogs they were, and Dante was running around the courtyard like the goofball he was. Miguel and Maria had been working on their math homework, and Miguel had brought the guitar with him. He said he didn't want his family to take it when he wasn't around, so he locked it in his closet when he was at school and kept it close to him when he was at home. "I've always seen it on De La Cruz's album covers and everything, but I never expected to touch it. I also never expected for De La Cruz to be a murderer and cause your family so much pain, but what's fun when you expect everything?"

She also lifted up the second thing that was laying her lap besides the guitar. An old, black and white photo. The photo used to be ripped across the top and hid the face of one of the three people present in the photo, but it was now complete thanks to Mama Coco. Maria carefully applied pressure to the tape she had just recently placed, and looked it over to make sure it wasn't uneven. She had seen Mama Imelda's stern face and Mama Coco's adorable, young face for years, but she now saw the face of Papa Hector who was the only one in the photo smiling. His guitar was held next to him as he stood proudly behind his family, and Maria thought he looked quite cute.

"I definitely wasn't expecting that surprise," Miguel said as he lifted his head up from his work. "My lifelong hero actually turning out to be evil, and almost killing me. Yeah, very unexpected."

"That must have been very traumatic," Maria looked sadly over at her friend as Dante came over to nudge is boy. They had actually recently tried to figure out that they could probably use Dante as a messenger to get information through to Miguel's family in the Land of the Dead since he was an alebrije, but they didn't get anything back. They guessed that Dante could cross the bridge with their letter, but couldn't cross with the dead family's. They guessed this because they knew that the dead could take dead version of any object from the Land of the Living, but the living couldn't do the same. So even if Dante could get across with some note attached to his new collar, they, as living people, would not be able to see it. This made Miguel nervous because they had first started sending the letters because Miguel wanted to know if Papa Hector was alright. Since they couldn't see the letters, or the letter sending thing just wasn't even working, it just piled up on the emotional issues Miguel was having, including the fears of De La Cruz. "But he can't get you now. He's dead and you're alive. There is no way your in danger of his greedy, power hungry hands. And even if he could get to you, your family wouldn't allow him to hurt you. You're very lucky Miguel."

"Why?" Miguel asked, "I'm now too scared to go to sleep, I see him in my nightmares, and I fear that I wasn't fast enough to save Papa Hector. I feel like such a failure. Why am I lucky?"

"Because your family cares about you," Maria looked down at the photo in her hands. "I wish my parents cared about me as much as they cared about their work. You said that your family fought for Hector's photo so you could go back happy that he was on the ofrenda even after years of hatred towards him. They tackled those guards, they traveled the entire Land of the Dead to find you, and they even put on Frida Kahlo costumes to make you happy. That's special, and something most people don't have."

"Well, you're an honorary member of this family, so you can have that same amount of devotion if you want," Miguel smiled. "It would be fun to have another sister."

"Oh yeah, when is your sister due?" Maria asked as she started to put the newly taped photo into its new frame.

"In a couple of weeks," Miguel practically jumped up in excitement, "My parents wanted me to help them come up with a name, and I think I've thought of the perfect name." He followed Maria as she went into the ofrenda room.

"And what would that be?" Maria asked as she positioned the matriarch and patriarch's photo perfectly on the very top level of the ofrenda table that was still decorated with orange marigold petals from Dias De Muertos which happened over 2 months ago.

"Coco," Miguel stated without hesitation.

"What took you idiotas so long," Ernesto De La Cruz growled as his bodyguards hurried him through the hallways of the prison and jumped over fallen skeleton police officers. "I've been stuck in this place for 4 months."

"We're sorry Senor De La Cruz," one of the guards said as the took a sharp right. "Explosives are hard to come by in the Land of the Dead, and we had to go to the darkest part of the black market to find the kind that work on this stone," he thumped his fist against the stone walls that was speeding past them,"It's ridiculously hard to get through," The smell of smoke was immense even without noses, and they could hear shouts of the few conscious police officers that were trying to figure out what was going on. Ernesto's bodyguards had rigged the explosives to the outside walls via alebrije, and had blasted the police officer outposts before entering the building and freeing their boss, "It was even harder to find that talisman."

"Did you find the right one?" Ernesto asked through clenched teeth as they started running down some stairs. All of his injuries hadn't healed yet, and being pushed around wasn't making them feel any better. They finally made it to the blasted hole in the wall where a huge lizard/dragon alebrije with reins and a saddle was hovering on large, leather wings waiting for them. As they got on, the guard reached into his black suit and pulled out an ancient, circular shaped token on a chain. It had Mayan faces and symbols on it, and was slightly rusted with age. Ernesto pulled the book out of his rib cage, turned to the right page, and smiled slyly before snatching it from the guard. "Perfect. Now all we need to do is travel to Shantytown for this to work."

"Are you sure this is safe, senor?" One of the guards asked as they flew away from the smoking building, "It wasn't safe for that living boy to come to the Land of the Dead. Are we sure that the dead should enter the Land of the Living?"

"It does seem like magic out of a fairy tale," another guard agreed.

"That's what I'm counting on," Ernesto said through his teeth that threatened to crack against each other. "My life was as perfect as a fairy tale, and it was taken away from me. I won't stop until the people responsible are punished."

"But why can't we just attack the half of the family that's in the Land of the Dead with us?" Another guard asked.

"Because it's only half, and they are tough to get a hold of," Ernesto instinctively went to touch a crack on his foot where his past friend's wife had stepped on him with her sharp boot heel. "The family in the Land of the Living won't be expecting an attack by skeletons, and they will be the perfect bait to lure in the dead half. Don't try to find any faults in my plans because I've thought of everything. I've been thinking about this for mouths in a cell all to myself, thanks to you idiotas."

"We tried to—" One guards attempted to say but he was cut off my a sharp voice.

"Shut it! I don't want your excuses!" Ernesto snarled. "All I want is your full cooperation in this. I want revenge."

"Oh she's adorable," Rosita cooed as she looked at the photos that the family was passing around. A colorful, glowing Dante barked happily as he bounded around the excited, deceased Riveras. He had just been sent by his boy's friend Maria with pictures of the newest addition to the Rivera family. Coco had been born mere hours ago, and Maria thought the dead Riveras should know about it. She had taken pictures, printed them out, and attached them to Dante's collar in an envelope with a note. Imelda was reading said note right now.

 _I thought you guys should know that Mama Luisa has just given birth to little Socorro. They're both doing well, and the family is even happier than before. Abel finally got onto the top football team at our school, Rosa has started playing the violin, and Benny and Manny are as energetic as ever. Miguel has gotten a job as the guitarist for my dance studio's band. He's even started writing songs just like Papa Hector. He's still worried that Papa Hector didn't make it, and that it's his fault. I personally believe he has nothing to worry about, but I don't know myself either. I wish you could write back. I missed you all this year, and now I have to wait another year to see you._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Maria Ruiz_

"Who's Maria?" Hector asked as he read the letter over his wife's shoulder, and almost scared his wife half to death… again.

"She's Miguel's best friend," Imelda explained as she got over the scare, "And she can see us. She can see the dead, and she comes to our family's Dias De Muertos celebration every year. It's nice to get all the details about the year we've been away from someone alive, and not have to get all our information from just cuts from everyone's conversations."

"How is that even possible?" Hector asked in disbelief.

"No idea, but it's possible," Imelda shrugged, "Victoria tired to figure it out, she went to the library every day after work for a month, but she couldn't figure it out. It almost broke her."

"Don't try Papa Hector," Victoria called from across the room as she looked at the pictures that Tia Rosita was holding. "There is no knowledge of this world's magic in anything I read. We live here, but we don't know how this world works. I don't even know how she figured out that she could send us stuff through Dante," she pet the glowing dog alebrije as he trotted by, "It's a mystery to everyone."

"Don't you know about the Mayan Wishing Well?" Hector asked the room. They all turned to him in confusion. He looked a little tense with all his family's eyes on him, but he continued. "The Mayan Wishing Well is a well that was built by the first Mayans that came to the Land of the Dead. The Mayan gods supposedly cast a spell on it, so the dead could visit the living. Like actually, physically visit the Land of the Living. It's been flooded for years, but it's right next to my old shack in Shantytown. It's rumored that it still works, but I've never tried it. We might not be able to die from drowning, but you still feel the sensation." He shivered at the thought.

"I guess when you live in the upper levels with the well remembered you don't really hear those kind of ghost stories," Julio stated as he nervously messed with the rim of his hat.

"Oh but it's real," Hector said in a whispery, creepy voice as he took a step towards a now even more nervous Julio. "If the living can come back, the forgotten can come back. The cannibals and sacrificial priests of ancient times will come back, and bite your bones in your sleep!" Julio yelped as Hector took a heavy step towards him. Hector smiled since his scary story had worked against his son-in-law. He had missed tormenting the younger man in life, so he should catch up on it now. Imelda didn't seem to think that was such a good idea because she stuck out her foot as he took a step back, and he yelped as he fell backwards into his wheelchair which he hadn't used for a good month.

"I think you still need to heal," she raised an eyebrow at him, "Because your skull is obviously still not screwed on right."

"You wound me, mi amor," Hector smiled cheekily up at her as he adjusted his hat which had gotten crooked with the fall. "But two people can play the tripping game." He reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist before pulling her towards him. It was her turn to yell out in surprise as she fell over the armrest of the wheelchair, and landed in her husband's lap. His sly smile grew as she stared at him in shock. The rest of the family started laughing at the unusual situation. If anyone else had tripped Mama Imelda, they wouldn't have been able to walk for at least a week, probably more. But Hector had special privileges. He could get away with the teasing because Imelda allowed it. She actually seemed to enjoy it. She, however, didn't seem to like the rest of the family laughing at her since was glaring daggers at them. Hector smoothed down her mood but taking a hold of her jaw gently, and pressing his lips to hers. She tensed, but quickly calmed. Hector knew it was still a new thing for her to feel a kiss every couple of minutes or so, but she, like the teasing, seemed to enjoy it. It was something he took great pleasure in doing, and the kiss back was all he needed in return.

"Aw," Rosita cooed at them, and Imelda immediately broke the kiss and looked anywhere than at any eyes. She was obviously greatly embarrassed, but Hector hugged her to him all the same. She leaned back against Hector and rested her head on his shoulder before closing her eyes. Rosita carefully placed the pictures of the new baby girl on the mantel where they placed all of the pictures of their family that they got every Días De Muertos while Victoria checked the clock on the other side if the room.

"Well I'm going to bed," She stretched her long arms above her head. "It's well past ten. I want to get started on this book." She picked up a store bought book that she had gotten that day.

"I guess I'll follow," Julio said as he gave a quick glance to his parents-in-law before mounting the stairs after his daughter.

"And I'll follow you," Rosita giggled at her brother's eye rolling before mounting the stairs herself. After they heard three bedroom doors closing, the twins turned to their sister and her husband.

"You two…" Oscar started.

"Are weird," Felipe finished.

"And you two aren't?" Imelda challenged.

"We've always been weird," Oscar pointed out.

"You two haven't," Felipe stated.

"Well love does make you do crazy things," Hector shrugged.

"It does indeed mi amor," Imelda smiled as she kissed his cheek. If he had skin, he would be blushing an extra shade of red. Both Felipe and Oscar gagged like they had just eaten something revolting before turning to the stairs.

"You two are disgustingly in love," Felipe spat.

"And we're running from it," Oscar agreed as the bolted up the stairs. Imelda and Hector laughed as they went before Hector stood up with Imelda still in his arms. She clung to his neck and shoulders as he walked to their bedroom.

When Imelda had bought the house herself when she first got to the Land of the Dead, it was just a first floor home with one bedroom, a kitchen, a living room, and huge front and back yards. She had built the workshop in the front yard with a courtyard in between the two that was surrounded by a protective, tall, stone wall. She then built the structure to build on top of the house, and expanded the ground floor. She added a bathroom for washing hands and bathing, a mudroom that could fit Pepita so she could eat inside if it was raining, and obviously the stairs to the floors above. She only had to add one floor as of right now, but she knew she would need to expand when other family members came. Coco would be able to share a room with Julio, and she knew she would want to after so long apart, but she would have to break out the wood, hammer, and nails again. But this time she had Hector to help her. She and Hector had built the home in Santa Cecilia that was still used by their family today, and this one would last a while too.

As he passed the mantel, Imelda gently took one of the photos of Socorro off of it. She looked longingly at the baby as Hector opened the door of their room with his foot and set her down on the bed. Her feet dangled off the bed, and Hector kneeled down to help her take off her boots. As he undid the laces, he felt her hand drifting into his hair and scratching lightly against his skull. He closed his eyes briefly to enjoy the touch. His wife had been nice and caring, especially to him, after he rejoined the family. He enjoyed her kisses, her warm hugs, and her gorgeous laughs. He found it was easy for him to make her laugh that heart-raising laugh, and her brothers said she had gotten a lot happier after he came back. She wasn't as harsh, and she wasn't as sad. She smiled more, and it made him happy that he was the cause.

He looked up at her after he pried the second boot off her foot. She looked downcast at the photo in her hands, and Hector leaned up on his knees at full height so they were eye level.

"What's wrong, mi amor?" Hector asked as he looked at the picture of the baby in Luisa's arms upside down. The baby had a little smile on her face as she stared up into the camera. Luisa looked exhausted, and Miguel looked delighted. His entire face lit up as he stared as his sister in amazement. The picture brought a smile to Hector's face, but Imelda was looking at it with more sadness than anything.

"It just reminds me that we'll never get to hold a baby that small again," Imelda sighed, "The last baby I held was Victoria when she was little. That was so long ago."

"I can only remember Coco being that little," Hector smiled at his wife reassuringly when her face fell more at that realization, "She was so tiny. I remember holding her for the first time after you were in labor for what felt like hours, and she was crying like the health baby that she was. Her tiny hands tugged at my beard, and you laughed as I tried to unclutch her hands that had a surprisingly strong grip from tearing it off," Imelda let out a little chuckle at the memory. "She would run around the house, and we would have to run after her catching everything that fell off the tables that she bumped into to keep everything from breaking. She would squeal out giggles when we finally caught her and it would end in a tickle fight." Imelda looked up at him with a sad smile, and Hector kissed her forehead lovingly. "Your mama instincts are something to be amazed by. The only reason that you were able to hold a child before your own death was because you raised an amazing family, and I'm sorry you had to do it without me. I'm sorry that a child that small will never be in your arms again, but you have me and the rest of your beautiful family and I hope that will be enough."

" _Our_ family, mi amor," Imelda corrected for the hundredth time, "Our family will always be enough, but selfish me just wants more." She looked down at the picture again before putting it on their bedside table. "But I've got what need right…" She acted like she was about to point at him, but she quickly reached around him and grabbed something from behind him. "Here!" She laughed as Hector looked with a straight face at the doll she had had as long as she could remember. Hector shook her head.

"You're making it a game to wound me, Medla," Hector chuckled too.

Imelda just laughed harder as she kissed his nonexistent lips with as much love as she was capable of possessing.

 **The scene that Hector talks about in this chapter about running after Coco while she's knocking things over is a real, long one shot that is apart of my other Coco fanfiction titled 'Imelda x Hector One Shots'. I can always use more support, and if you have any requests for one shots, let me know!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3:**

 **I'm so sorry this took so long to get out! I've been mainly focusing on my more popular fanfictions and my grades more than this story, but, don't worry, I'm not finished with it yet. I've got the entire story in my head, but I just need to find the time to write it all down. I'll get on it a lot faster if I have positive feedback from this chapter. But, without further adieu, Part 3!**

Maria held baby Coco as the Rivera family walked back from the graveyard. It was a gloomy, overcast day, and it had every right to be. Mama Coco had died just days ago in her sleep, and they had just put her body to rest. There were no words said as they made their way to their shoe making compound, and they had actually closed the shop for three days to honor her memory. Everyone had cried, even Maria, but she knew that Mama Coco was in an even better place now. She would get to see her husband, her uncles, her sister-in-law, her parents, and especially her daughter, who had the unfortunate luck of dying sooner than her mother. She could see the people she had grown up with and lived her prime years with, but that wouldn't get rid of the feeling and guilt that she had left a good portion of her family behind as well. Maria knew Mama Coco would have those thoughts just like everyone else that entered the Land of the Dead.

Maria hoisted up the only remaining Coco a bit more in her arms, and hugged her close to her chest. Maria tried to think happy thoughts as she saw the sad faces of the rest of the Riveras. The only person that didn't look completely deflated was Miguel because he too knew that Mama Coco was in a better place. It was still an awful hit to the gut to think of that wonderful, loving woman in the ground, but Maria still smiled at the baby as she began to get a little fussy before the family entered the living room in the sleeping quarters of their property. Everyone sat down in unison on any piece of furnisher without a word. Maria stayed standing as she rocked little Coco back and forth. The baby was as silent as everyone else right now which was a blessing and a curse.

Maria personally didn't like it when babies cried. It made her want to cry when she saw such a sweet, innocent face contorted in sadness, but it would have been nice for Coco's wails to awaken everyone from their minds full of depression with her cuteness. Abelita Elena was still crying buckets, and Maria wondered how she wasn't dehydrated yet. Miguel's parents, Tia Gloria, and Tio Berto were trying to comfort the older woman. Tia Carmen was holding the, for once, unmoving little twins in her arms, and Rosa and Abel sat on either side of their mother on the couch. Miguel was sitting on the coffee table, and the sight of his family sad was the only thing that was making him sad. He looked up at Maria with a shrug, but the sound of thunder brought everyone back to reality.

Coco started crying after hearing the noise, and Luisa hurried over to the baby and took her in her own arms with a quiet "thank you" towards Maria before heading back to her husband. Maria knew it was about to rain, so she needed to collect some things that Mama Coco had given her and get home. She didn't know if she should just slip out unnoticed or tell them she was leaving. Miguel gestured with his hands to go, so Maria waved goodbye to him before exiting the building and going across the compound to grab her bag. She checked she still had the letters Papa Hector had written to Mama Coco before sprinting off towards _her_ _family's_ mansion, not De La Cruz's.

She ran up the winding path up the hill, through the gates, greeted her dogs that barked at her when she came towards the front door, walked up the winding staircase to the second floor, and opened her bedroom door wide enough for her and her dogs to come in. Her dogs hopped onto her window seat to look at the rain that had just started, and Maria gently took out the fragile items she had placed in her bag.

Mama Coco had given Maria the letters days before she died saying that she trusted Maria to clear her father's name and get the truth of De La Cruz out to the public. When Maria had asked Mama Coco why she trusted her with this instead of the adults in her family or even Miguel, the old woman said that Maria could get it done. Maria agreed with what she said. Maria had the resources and time to devote to this new project. She didn't want to be rude to the Riveras, who had been a better family than anything she actually had, but she did have more money. She could hire detectives, news reporters, and newspapers under her family's name that would listen to her and what she had to say. She would get this out to the public, and make De La Cruz pay for what he did to her best friend's family.

She jumped when her dogs started barking out the window through the rain. She sighed as she put down the old letters, and walked over to the window seat where her dogs were growling at something past the clear glass. She looked over their heads to see they were barking at the cemetery where she had just been minutes earlier. Even through the rain she couldn't see any people in the cemetery at all. There were no lights on anywhere else in the town that she could see, and everything was quiet besides the rain and thunder outside.

"What are you barking at you silly dogs?" Maria rubbed their heads affectionately. "There's nothing out there." Maria shook her head as she walked back to her bed to look at the letters. Her dogs still stayed by the window though… growling down at the wet gravestones below.

"Keep it moving!" Ernesto De La Cruz yelled at his workers as they funneled water out of a huge hole in the ground. When they had first started clearing the flooded out hole of the access water, there had been no signs that it was anything more than an abnormal sinkhole. But now as they had been at the process for days, they were starting to see the entrance to the Mayan Wishing Well.

Ernesto growled at some of his workers that were talking in a group in the knee deep water. They immediately got to work again, and some of them tripped over each other in their haste. Since they were skeletons, the temperature, depth, and even the darkness of the cave they were in didn't bother them much, but Ernesto, as he too stood knee deep in the dark water, noticed just how cold it was. But not like a cold that you would feel during the winter months in the Land of the Living. It was a chill that felt like a ghost had walked through you.

Being spirits themselves, again, the unnatural feel of the place didn't affect them too much, but it was something to be recognized. The magic of this world by itself was easily recognized, but not easily explained.

"How far do we need to clear the water out?" One of the workers asked as he looked down what little of the hole they had uncovered with buckets and pulleys. They could see markings, paintings, and carvings along the tan and red stones that went as far underwater as they could see through the well, and they couldn't see an end. "And when do we get paid?"

"You'll get your pay when we've finished the job," Ernesto barked. "As for how far… I'll tell you when to stop." Some of the workers growled at this response, but others immediately got to work. De La Cruz had promised them all wealth if they helped him out, and they wouldn't ruin those chances.

Ernesto nodded his approval as they all started working even faster. He then looked up at the entrance to the big cave above them which was the only source of light. It had been a pain getting here because of all the skeleton in Shantytown they had to pass undetected. Ernesto had never been this far down in the city's levels before, so he was surprised when he saw just how many skeletons were living down here in the water, mud, and little, unstable shacks. He was sure glad he wasn't one of them yet. It hurt his head thinking about living among them playing cards or music that everyone knew wasn't his. It would only make what he had left of his afterlife worse.

Which was why they needed to get down there. Ernesto snarled at the thought. He needed to get revenge on that stupid boy and his family who ruined his life. They ruined his legacy, his life's work. As soon as they cleared enough water for them to swim through without having the feeling of suffocation, they would be able to reclaim their actual bones where they rested and abduct the Rivera family. They planned to bring them back here because they knew this world a lot better. Ernesto had been here longer than he had been alive, and he hadn't been back to Santa Cecilia since he and Hector had started their tour. Although he had multiple ofrendas dedicated to him, he had no reason to go back.

That's what started it all. Ernesto looked back up at the light from the moon above and he heard the music and laughter and cheers from Shantytown. _He must have lived up there_ , Ernesto thought suddenly. _Hector must have lived in that town, in one of those shacks, and lived in the filth that they did. He deserved it too, but now it's all completely backwards. While he gets to live in his family's house with that Imelda again,_ Ernesto remembered the times during his childhood where Imelda would assault him with whatever she could throw and shivered, _I have to stay down here in the dirt where I'll never belong._

"Soon," he mumbled underneath his breath as he continued to observe the work his workers were doing. "Very soon."

"Hector! Relax, mi amor! She's not going to be mad at you," Imelda said as she rubbed Hector's arm gently to try and calm the aggravated skeleton, but to no avail. They were in a trolley heading for the Department of New Arrivals. Their little Coco had sadly passed at the age of 99 mere moments ago, and they were all sad to hear of her departure but happy to know they would all see her again. Julio in particular couldn't stop bouncing on the balls of his feet, but Hector was a case all by himself. He looked like he was ready for a nervous breakdown.

"How can I?" Hector pulled down his hat over his eyes as his hands fiddled with its rim to have something to do. "I haven't seen her in 90 years, and I'm surprised she even remembers me at all. I'm surprised I'm still standing here. She remembered, but maybe she didn't do it willingly. Maybe Miguel forced it out of her, so she actually just remembered the pain I caused her and her mama after leaving."

"But then how are you still here?" Imelda questioned with a smile as she stroked his colorful face markings fondly, "She must have told stories about you to the rest of the family to get you to stay. She loves you Hector. I couldn't even get her to forget about you. So stubborn. I don't know where she gets it from." She didn't see all her family members exchanging looks behind her back as they held onto the handles suspended from the ceiling to aid in their balance. Usually they would just take Pepita, but since there were so many of them they decided to go by public transportation. Also forcing their Coco onto a giant jaguar as soon as she had arrived in the Land of the Dead was probably not the best idea.

The trolley clunked to a stop, and the skeletons within exited. Imelda had to literally drag Hector out of the cart because he was frozen with fear. He finally found his feet somewhere during the walk to the New Arrivals building, but he was still shaking. Imelda, as they reached the door to the building, pulled Hector aside as everyone else entered.

"Why are you scared?" Imelda asked sadly, "She's going to love to see you again. She has always missed you. Whenever you were mentioned by anyone in the family, whether if it was with confusion or hate, she would try to reason with them. She would always say how nice you were to me and her, and I, oh... how I regret it, I would tell her to stop talking about you. How you were never coming back and you were nothing to me. I said it more times than I dare to admit, but she still kept defending you. The only image of her papa that she remembers is the one that would sing her to sleep, the one that made songs for her, and the one that played with her when her mother was trying to take a nap. You have nothing to be scared about. Nothing that I ever felt for you penetrated her heart. It's as pure as ever."

Hector relaxed slightly at her words as he thought them over. _She's right_ , he realized, _why should I be scared of my own daughter? Fear of rejection I guess, but Coco wouldn't do that, right? She was always the snuggle bug that whined when I wasn't home, and drove her mama crazy._

 _But she's changed_ , another voice in his head said, _she's grown for nearly a century while you were gone. She's gotten married, had kids, lived a life of work, and why? Because her father never came home to lessen the load_.

 _But I'm here now_ , the other voice came back, _listen to Imelda, who loves you, and stop being so selfish. If she yells at me, so be it. I can win her back just as I won Imelda back. I can make it right._

With that determination running through his mind, Hector took a deep breath and nodded his head.

"Ok," Hector said, "I'll try."

Imelda smiled at him before taking his arm, and leading him into the building. They immediately saw the rest of their family crowded around the front desk, and leaving the lady behind it slightly overwhelmed. Imelda rolled her eyes before pushing them all aside out of her way as the lady pulled up the name they gave her.

"Yes, here she is, Socorro Rivera, died an hour ago, born in 1918, this the one?" She asked Imelda as she eyed the rest of the family uneasily.

"Yes, that's her," Imelda confirmed as she glared at the rest of the family that were being highly impatient. The lady hurriedly told them the room number, and what floor they would find her. Imelda thanked her, while also glaring at her family, as they made their way towards the elevator and pushed the button to go up. They headed to the third floor and room number 46 like the lady had told them, but they all just stopped at the door. They looked between each other before Felipe and Oscar elbowed Imelda forward, and she would have fallen on her face if it hadn't been for Hector catching her. She growled at her brothers before giving a knock on the door. They all hear shuffling from inside the room before the door slightly creaked open. A male skeleton with green and purple markings and a New Arrivals worker uniform on smiled at them.

"You must Senora Rivera's family, yes?" He asked, and at their vigorous nods he stepped aside to let them in. Hector's eyes searched for a fraction of a second before falling on the only other skeleton in the room. Her hair was very white, and in two braids down her back. She was wearing a white nightgown with colorful embroidery along the neckline, she had slippers with the signature Rivera R on the heel, and she turned her head rather sharply when she heard them enter the room. Her new skeletal face was decorated with purple leaves along her cheeks, bronze and purple swirls and patterns on her chin and forehead, and a series of bronze dots underneath her eyes that were similar to Hector's. Hector found he couldn't breath as he gazed at her confused face, and he also found himself being run around as the rest of the family rushed over to their newest, dead member.

"Mama?" Coco asked as Imelda pulled the old, skeleton woman in a hug. Coco appeared surprised for a second before hugging her mother back. Her shoulders shoot with heavy sobs as her mother rubbed her back.

"Oh Coco, I missed you so much mija," Imelda said as she pulled back enough to see into Coco's tear soaked eyes. Coco looked around, and Hector got selfish again when he was actually happy to be hidden by the twin's height. Coco hugged her husband, and apologized to her daughter about not being able to save her from that sickness years ago, and got a large hug from Rosita, Felipe, and Oscar. Imelda made eye contact with Hector, and gestured for him to go talk to her. Hector rubbed his arm nervously as he watched Coco talk to her uncles about the new twins that had graced the Rivera household in the Land of the Living. He could wait until they were done with their catch up. He could wait a little longer. He could sneak out of the room right now… He flinched when someone poked him in the back.

He turned to see his granddaughter Victoria pushing him towards her mother, and he didn't have the mind to fight her. Before he knew it he was standing in front of a, again, confused Coco. She looked up at him with her large, loving eyes, and he could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to figure out who he was. He knew she had remembered him, or else he wouldn't be here, but her memory might have faded enough for her not to recognize him, especially now that he was a skeleton. It took her a minute of nervous silence for her eyes to widen in realization.

"Papa?" She asked with more question than assurance, like she wasn't exactly sure if she was right, but it was enough to make Hector's metaphorical heart explode. He nodded his head, and Coco gasped with a smile before hugging her father around his bony chest.

Imelda couldn't help but let a couple of happy tears fall as Hector laughed and embraced his daughter with as much love and care as he had when she was only a couple years old. He planted kisses all over her face, and she giggled at the attention. Imelda brought her hand up to her eye sockets to wipe away the stray tears, and the movement was caught by Hector. He quickly shot out his arm, and pulled her into the hug before she could do anything. She smiled as he wrapped his arms around both of them, and Imelda, in turn, wrapped her own arms around Coco. This was a happy moment that she knew they would never forget.


End file.
